Encouraging Teachers to use Serious Games in Science Teaching

In order to bridge the gap between Professional Development (PD) and actual practice we used an online PD model which we recently developed in order to help science teachers in the assimilation of computerized environments. One of the computerized environments introduced in the PD was the game Enercities as an example for a serious game. The game deals with topics from middle school science curriculum, and requires dealing with complicated situations involving multiple variables. We were interested to find out how we could bring teachers who participated in the PD to use the serious game efficiently in their science lessons. The participants (N=37) had no previous experience with game- basedlearning. The PD included theoretical background, engagement as players, developing GBL lesson plans, teaching them in their class, and reporting about the experience in synchronic meetings of the PD group. Analyses of teachers' reports in their assignments, data from recorded synchronic meetings, and an online questionnaire gave us insight regarding the challenges that teachers face when using serious games in practice, and how the different PD stages may help overcoming these challenges. The varied choices of integrating the game in teaching lead to some interesting conclusions regarding the influence of serious games on students' learning. The positive experience led the participating teachers to commit to continue and use serious games in their practice.